Device for winding or coiling expansion anchors from flat material



June 12, 1962 A. c. WAGNER 3,033,521

- DEVICE FOR WINDING OR comma EXPANSION ANCHORS FROM FLAT MATERIAL Filed Sept. 9. 1957 INVENTOR Ari/7w 6. Wagner ATTORNEY Patented June 12, 1962 3,038,521 DEVICE FOR WINDING R COILINE EXlANSlON ANCHORS FROM FLAT MATERIAL Arthur C. Wagner, 340 N. 7th St., Lebanon, Pa. Filed Sept. 9, 1957, Ser. No. 682,652 3 Claims. (Cl. 153--64) This invention relates to anchors for fastenings such as screws and bolts, and more particularly to expansion anchors and to an apparatus for making expansion anchors.

Expansion anchors are widely used for securing screws and bolts in concrete, stone, tile, cement block and the like and for more securely anchoring screw fastenings in worn screw holes in wooden support members. While there are many types of preformed expansion anchors available on the market, the mechanic or'other person requiring the use of such anchors must keep a large variety of sizes of anchors on hand to meet the requirements of the different sizes of screws and bolts which he may use.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for making expansion anchors or liners on the job as the need arises, and to provide an improved expansion anchor made by this apparatus.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an inexpensive apparatus for making expansion anchors which can be retailed at a very nominal price and in which a single apparatus is capable of making a wide variety of sizes of expansion anchors.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an apparatus for making expansion anchors which permits the anchors to be made at considerably less expense than the cost of preformed anchors.

In achievement of these objectives, there is provided in accordance with embodiments of this invention 1) an apparatus for rolling expansion anchors or liners from an unperforated blank of soft metal, such as aluminum, and (2) an expansion anchor formed from a blank of unperforated soft metal and rolled on this apparatus. The rolling apparatus includes a framework which supports a mandrel about which the blank is rolled or spirally wound to form the anchor. The framework also supports a guide roller adjacent the mandrel. The mandrel is not fastened to the frame, but is slidably supported in hearings on the frame from which it may be easily withdrawn to permit removal of the rolled expansion anchor. The supporting framework is provided with several pairs of bearing supports on either side of the guide roller for interchangeably receiving mandrels of different diameters for rolling expansion anchors of different internal diameters.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the anchor rolling apparatus being used to roll an expansion anchor from a blank of soft metal;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view, partially broken away, of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in longitudinal section taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a mandrel of smaller diameter which may be used on the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a metal blank from which the expansion anchor is rolled; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an expansion anchor which has been rolled on the apparatus of the invention.

Referring now to the drawing, the device for rolling expansion anchors is generally indicated at 10 and includes a metal framework 11 of generally rectangular shape. The metal framework 11 in the illustrated embodiment is formed from a single steel strip which is bent into generally rectangular shape and is closed upon itself by overlapping the ends of the strip and suitably fastening the overlapped ends together, as by riveting. Obviously, the support frame could be made in other ways, and the illustrated embodiment is by way of example only.

Framework ].ll includes a pair of longitudinally extending sides 12 and 14 and a pair of transversely extending sides 16 and 18. The two longitudinally extending sides 12 and 14 are provided on one side of the central transverse axis of the framework with a pair of oppositely disposed apertures 20 and 22, respectively, which serve as bearings for a mandrel generally indicated at 24. Mandrel 24 includes a slot 26 along the length thereof for receiving the metal blank which is to be rolled, as will be explained more fully hereinafter, slot 26 being offset slightly from the diametral axis of the mandrel. Mandrel 24 in the illustrated embodiment may be, for example, %-inch in diameter, and slot 26 may be A -inch wide and /8-lllCh deep. Mandrel 24 is bent at one end thereof at an angle slightly less than degrees from the axis of mandrel to form a handle portion 28.

A guide roller 30 is positioned adjacent mandrel 24, roller 30 being a tubular sleeve-like member which is supported for rotation by a pin member 32 which in turn is rigidly supported with respect to framework 11 in oppositely disposed apertures in the respective sides 12 and 14. Pin member 32 has its ends peened to prevent movement of member 32 out of its supports in the sides 12 and 14.

In order to permit the support framework 11 to receive another mandrel of different size, sides 12 and 14 are provided with a second pair of bearing apertures 34 and 36 in longitudinal spaced relation to guide roller 30 and on the opposite side of the guide roller as compared to the location of the bearing apertures 20 and 22, previously described. Bearing apertures 34 and 36 are adapted to receive the mandrel generally indicated at 38 in FIG. 4. Mandrel 38 may be 7 inch in diameter, for example, for rolling expansion anchors of smaller size than those rolled by mandrel 24, and may have an axially extending slot 40 which is -inch wide and /s-inch deep.

In using the device of the invention for rolling expansion anchors, a soft metal blank 42, such as the one shown in FIG. 5, is selected of a suitable length and width for the particular anchor which is to be rolled. The thickness of the blank may be in the approximate range of -inch to -inch for example. The metal blank 42 is provided with a continuous unperforated and ungrooved surface on both sides thereof. The surfaces of the blank may be rough, as shown in the view of FIG. 5, or may be smooth. While the blank 4-2 is made of a soft metal such as aluminum, it has suflicient rigidity to require the use of a mandrel for rolling it. The continuous ungrooved and unperforated character of the blank provides an anchor which is structurally strong and which provides a strong support for the screw or bolt which it receives.

If an expansion anchor for a Avinch lag screw or bolt is to be rolled, for example, the Ai-inch mandrel 24 shown in FIG. 2 is used and a blank 40 having a size 1% x 2 inches is used, the l A-inch dimension of the blank being rolled. The blank 42 is laid across the surface of guide roll 30 and mandrel 24 is turned to a position in which the edge of blank 42 can be inserted in slot 26. With the edge of blank 24- engaged with slot 26, mandrel 28 is then turned toward the operator to thereby rotate mandrel 24 in a counterclockwise direction with respect to the view shown in FIG. 1 or in a clockwise direction with respect to the view shown in FIG. 3. Rotation of mandrel 24 rolls the blank 32 up into the spirally wound form shown in FIG. 6. After the blank has been completely wound, mandrel 24 is then Withdrawn from its bearings 20 and 22 and the finished expansion anchor is free of the mandrel and ready for use. A /s-inch hole is' drilled in the surface which is to receive the expansion anchor and the %-inch lag screw or bolt expands' the anchor, causing the anchor to embed itself into the surface of the hole in which the anchor is inserted.

The tool equipped with the mandrels 24 and 33 can be used for rolling various sizes of anchors used in connection with the most popular or widely used screw and bolt sizes. For example, mandrel 38'which is assumed to have a inch outer diameter can be used for rolling an anchor for a #12 metal cutting screw. This anchor is rolled from a metal blank 1 x 1 /8 inches in size, the 1 /8- inch dimension being rolled, and a At-inch hole being drilled in the surface which receives the expansion anchor. An expansion anchor for a #14 metal cutting screw or for a 4-inch lag screw is rolled from a 1 x 1% inch metal blank with the 1-inch dimension being rolled on a 32 inch mandrel, and a /4-inch hole being drilled in the surface which receives the expansion anchor. An expansion anchor for a /2-inch lag screw or bolt is rolled on a mandrel having a inch diameter from a metal blank having a size 3% x 2 inches with the 3 /4-inch dimention being tightly rolled.

It can be seen from the foregoing that there is provided in accordance with this invention an apparatus for forming expansion anchors for fastenings such as screws and bolts which has great practical utility in that it permits the expansion anchor to be rolled on the job as required without the necessity of the mechanic carrying with him a number of various sizes of preformed anchors. The improved expansion anchor of the invention can be rolled very quickly using the apparatus hereinbefore described at an expense which is considerably less than that of the preformed expansion anchors currently in use.

The rolling apparatus and metal blanks are adapted for sale in a kit including the rolling apparatus and an assortment of metal blanks pre-cut for rolling various sizes of expansion anchors. Instead of having the individual metal blanks pre-cut to the required size for the different sizes of expansion anchors, the metal blanks can be supplied in roll form and marked for cutting as required. The formed expansion anchors can be used in any installation requiring'the use of an expansion anchor, such as for the anchoring of service cables, conduits, moldings, fixtures, brackets, screw insulators, wash line hooks, plumbing fixtures and pipes, guy wire hooks, drop cables for utility lines, antennas, picture hooks, and for a Wide variety of other installation requirements.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the invention and, therefore, it is aimed to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A device for rolling an expansible anchor member from a metal blank comprising a support, two pairs of bearing means carried by said support for rotatably supporting two mandrels of different diameters, guide means intermediate said two pairs of bearing means for guilding a metal blank toward a mandrel supported by either one of said pairs of bearing means, at least one mandrel detachably supported by said bearing means, means for ro-- tating said mandrel, and means carried by said mandrel for engaging an edge of a metal blank to be formed into an anchor member.

2. A device for winding an expansible anchor member from a metal blank comprising a support including two oppositely disposed side members, a mandrel detachably mounted for rotation on said support and freely slidaoly removable from said support to permit removal of the formed anchor member from the mandrel, said mandrel including a slot for engaging an edge of a metal blank to be formed into an anchor member, handle means carried by said mandrel for rotating said mandrel, a guide means mounted on said support adjacent said mandrel in fixed relation to said mandrel, said guide means being sup ported at its opposite ends by said two oppoistely disposed side members, and bearing passages positioned in said oppositely disposed side members at opposite sides of the axis of said guide means for selectively receiving mandrels of different sizes.

3. A device for winding an expansible anchor member from a metal blank comprising a metal strip member bent to form a framework of hollow rectangular shape and including two oppositely disposed side members, said oppositely disposed side members having oppositely disposed bearing passages positioned therein, a mandrel supported for rotation in said bearing passages and freely slidably removable from said bearing passages t permit easy removal of the Wound anchor member from the mandrel, means carried by said mandrel for engaging an edge of a metal blank to be Wound into an anchor member, means for rotating said mandrel, a guide roller mounted on said framework side members adjacent said mandrel and in fixed spaced relation thereto for guiding the metal blank toward said mandrel, said bearing passages being positioned in said oppositely disposed side members at opposite sides of the axis of said guide roller for selectively receiving mandrels of different sizes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 7,451 Fisher Feb. 28, 1833 147,679 Nichols et a1. Feb. 17, 1874 189,097 Harding Apr. 3, 1877 337,002 Kuhn Mar. 2, 1886 413,451 Loop Oct. 22, 1889 492,132 Bessonette Feb. 21, 1893 1,199,790 Holcomb Oct. 3, 1916 1,350,562 Ogden Aug. 24, 1920 1,410,260 Kennedy Mar. 21, 1922 1,460,557 Ogden July 3, 1923 1,627,604 Hittle May 10, 1927 2,078,473 Truemper Apr. 27, 1937 2,710,111 Cable June 7,. 1955 2,864,272 Swanson Dec. 16, 1958 

